Botanical classification: Dianthus caryophyllus cultivar Yoder Lady.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Carnation plant, botanically known as Dianthus caryophyllus and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Yoder Ladyxe2x80x99.
The new Carnation is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif., and Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Carnation cultivars having long flowering stems, early flowering, attractive flower color, and good flower form and substance.
The new Carnation originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1994, in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary selection of Carnation identified as code number 0110, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent, with the Carnation cultivar Jazz, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,121, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Yoder Lady was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America in October, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its flower color and good flower form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Carnation by terminal cuttings in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America since November, 1995, has shown that the unique features of this new Carnation are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Yoder Lady has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Yoder Ladyxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Yoder Ladyxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar of Carnation: 
1. Orange-colored flowers with occasional random orange red-colored streaks and splashes.
2. Early and freely flowering habit with about 12 to 14 flowers per flowering stem.
3. Fragrant flowers.
4. Good postproduction longevity with flowers maintaining good substance and color for about ten days in an interior environment after shipping.
5. Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum. 
Plants of the new Carnation can be compared to plants of the female parent selection. In side-by side comparisons conducted in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America, plants of the new Carnation and female parent selection differed primarily in flower coloration as plants of the female parent selection had pink-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Carnation can be compared to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Jazz. In side-by side comparisons conducted in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America, plants of the new Carnation and the cultivar Jazz differed in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Carnation flowered one to two weeks earlier than plants of the cultivar Jazz.
2. Plants of the new Carnation and the cultivar Jazz differed in flower coloration as flowers of plants of the cultivar Jazz had more red-colored streaks and splashes than plants of the new Carnation.